How Far Would You Go To Become A "Real Man"

In the town of Fareo Islands, Denmark, locals and tourists gather along the bloody shores to watch the mass killing of dolphins. Every year during the summer months teenage boys wade in the water and intice dolphins to come close to shore. When close enough to reach the boys stab the dolphin repeatedly until it is dead. This is done as a right of passage into manhood. After the dolphin is killed they are no longer considered a teenage boy, but a real man. Near one thousand dolphins are killed each year. The water is no longer a clear blue during these months but a blood red. The dolphins are then drug up upon shore to sit and smell. These dolphins are being killed for nothing but fun they aren't used for food or anything useful. It has been said that the screams of a dolphin are similar to those of a young child. Can you imagine the mass amount of screams that come from these shores from the innocent dolphins being slaughtered. If this isn't bad enough locals take their children out of school to watch up close these horrible killings. If that's not terrifying for a child I'm not sure what is. This is sickening that boys get pleasure out of killing such sweet animals. It shouldn't matter how far back this culture has been around it's not right and someone needs to realize how wrong it is and stop it before the killing numbers become any higher and these animals start becoming extinct.
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This is real and something needs to be done!

Save ANWR

America has become so dependent on oil, it seems as if the government would go to any measure to obtain it, even if it comes to destroying natural animal habitats and moving small communities. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is the United State's largest wildlife refuge, spreading across 19 million acres of northern Alaska. The part of ANWR that would be used for oil and gas development is considered to contain billions of gallons of oil, along with trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. Along with all the oil and gas, ANWR also contains a fragile ecosystem.

The debate on whether or not to drill for the much needed oil has been going on for years. According to the Defenders of Wildlife article, Wildlife Impacts from Oil Drilling in the Refuge, the portion of ANWR set aside for oil and gas development is the 1.5 million acres of coast along the Beaufort Sea. President George W. Bush proposed that the oil found in ANWR would reduce our dependence on foreign oil by one million barrels a day. Is it worth destroying the environment?

According to Jeffery A. Hank's article, ANWR & Oil: What About the Wildlife, drilling in ANWR would provide America with oil and gas, however at the same time it would ruin the beauty of the land. Numerous animals call this land home, and many migrate across it each year. It would be selfish of our government to ruin one of America's last frontiers only for extra oil. It should be no question that the beautiful wildlife and picturesque terrain should stay unharmed from oil rigs.

There are also small communities that call ANWR home; the Gwich'en people and the Inupiat Eskimo tribe. Though the two groups support oil drilling on their land, it may also cause them harm. With the building of oil rigs, many job opportunities will arise for the people. However, the question these groups face is deciding between earning money and preserving land.

Eathing Ethically

I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost fifteen years. I abstain from eating meat, although I’ll eat eggs, milk, and the products of animals, generally. Oddly, enough, I made this decision when I was around four years old—obviously, it wasn’t a logical one, at the time, but I found that as I grew older, I created reasons for myself after the fact; they weren’t half bad.

Going vegetarian is pretty much the single greatest impact you can make for the sake of the environment. Methane is over twenty times as powerful as any other greenhouse gas; it’s responsible for more global warming than all other greenhouse gases combined. Concentrations of animal waste and cattle farms contribute over one hundred million tons of methane per year. Water tables are polluted from the nitrogen in the cattle’s urine. The nitrates could contaminate wells and drinking water. An individual cow wouldn’t contribute anything too terribly serious; however, farming has grown from a small-scale and personal experience into a giant process. We’ve taken America’s fast-food mentality and applied it to a noble profession. In our attempts to make food available cheaper and faster, we’ve neglected some pretty serious long term effects. We’ve become obsessed with ‘the system’; even when it’s flawed!

America’s drive-through ideals have skewed how we view food. Why do we insist on staying in the dark when it comes to the things we eat? We’ll take whatever processed, mutilated, and treated meat is available in our closest mega-mart. We’re given the illusion of choice when it comes down for our weekly trip to the supermarket. As of 2005, the top four meat processing companies produced 84% of the beef available to the public. Beef Production provides hamburger filler to over 80% of the country. Tyson Foods is the second largest producer of meat in the world. Smithfield Foods controls over a quarter of the pork market. We’re tricked into thinking that we could have the world in our shopping carts, but in reality, we’re victims to whatever these companies want to feed us. We’ve turned honest work into an assembly line; quality is defined by conformity. These companies are more manipulative than we think; to keep costs in check, Tyson frequently advertises on Mexican radio and in newspapers. They offer to bus illegal immigrants to and from the plants in exchange for cheap labor. When it’s time to deal out punishments, the corporation walks away with clean hands. The ones doing the work are the ones left holding the bag and facing the law. Beef Production soaks their beef filler with ammonia in order to cleanse it. What kind of condition was it in, in the first place, to require such extensive measures? Rather than spend the money to find the problem as to why their meat is so riddled with E. coli and salmonella, they just add steps to the process so they can keep the system going.

I’m not saying that these are evil Mega-corporations and we should form a lynch mob or anything. If the surgeon general and the FDA require tobacco companies to label cigarettes as dangerous carcinogens, is it really too much to ask for some regulation regarding something as vital as our food? I’m all for the individual’s responsibility to educate themselves, but it’s undeniable that the conditions regarding our food are kept, for the most part, in the dark. If we’re staying for dinner, is it really too much to ask to just have a peek in the kitchen?

Are Proffesional Athletes Over-Paid?

I am a huge sports fan. Actually i spend most of my hours in a day watching SportsCenter. Although i love watching them play, i often sit back and wonder, Are athletes over-paid? Do their salaries meet the requirements of their seemingly easy and degree-less jobs?
While i was watching sports center this past weekend (as usual), i realized i was interested in the salaries of professional athletes. From my common knowledge i knew some of the highest paid athletes make well over a million dollars, but the salaries i came across were rediculous. Tiger Woods, the worlds best GOLFER, makes 56.1 million dollars a year. Lebron James, aka "king james", makes 50 million dollars a year. What the hell are they going to do with all that money? I'm sure it seems like i'm hating or whatnot, but im just keeping it real. Honestly if they lowered the salaries of professional athletes just a little bit (a couple million), maybe my boss could have enough money to raise my salary. Then again he's probably going to bet that money on the game this weekend! Seriousy, Why does a man make over 50 million dollars a year and all he does is put a ball in a hole? "c'mon". Or Lebron James for instance, he gets paid about the same salary as Tiger Woods. People pay big money to watch a giant dunk a ball. i mean "c'mon" he's 6'8", it hardly takes him any effort to touch the sky! All im asking is why cant the people who are making an effort to the change the world or create a better means of society make salaries of that nature? Or perhaps poor college students, like myself, can get a little something for our efforts. So are professional athletes over-paid? You tell me. Now pass the remote, the game's coming on!

Separation anxiety?? who is it harder on?

Starting college can be tough, leaving your high school, hometown, friends, a place where you were comfortable. But really who has a bigger issue with separation anxiety, you or your parents? This really could go both ways, as a new student entering college we face many challenges but for parents its hard letting their babies grow up.

A survey was given to college students and in 2008 17% of college students thought of dropping out due to financial problems and 27% stressed over finincial issues. In 2009 another survey was taken and out of the 2,240 undergraduate students 85% said that they experience some kind of stress on a daily basis. Leaving home and have to live on your own is hard and does cause a lot of stress. We have school, finances, and many other things ut when we were at home our parents took care of everything, we didn't have to pay bills, they helped with school work, cooked.

When looking up this topic I found a lot of articles about separation anxiety in parents. Parents are having to adjust to "the empty nest", to being out of the loop and not as involved in their kids lives as the were before. In one article it talked about frases parents use such as "it is so quiet around here" but really in those words are a sense of loss. It is also hard for parents to want to relinquish control and let their children go, they have to let them make mistakes and not be there every second to help them through every problem. Many schools now are trying to offer a 2 or 3 day parent orientaion to help them let go of their children and make them comfortable with the new situation. At our school during orientaion the parents go to a "letting go" seminar, which my mother said "was the absolute worst thing, it was aweful, they told us not to call our kids or to go home and sit in your rooms".

NCAA Throws The Book, The Gavel, and The Kitchen Sink!

 



coolclips.com

 By now, I am sure that most of you have heard about Reggie Bush returning his Heisman Trophy due to an ongoing investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).  All summer long, the media covered the NCAA’s investigation and was chomping at the bit to release their findings and sanctions (punishment).  After reviewing the case, the NCAA found that Reggie Bush had received improper benefits during his collegiate career at the University of Southern California (USC).  Now the NCAA has strict rules that make receiving improper benefits, mainly money, illegal.  I am not arguing the rules; I am arguing the sanctions.  First of all, why is the NCAA punishing USC?  They did not accept the benefits for Reggie, yet they receive strict sanctions that place them on a two year bowl ban and loss of multiple scholarships.  That is just flat out ridiculous.

ncca.org

Another example is the A.J. Green situation at the University of Georgia. The NCAA suspended the University of Georgia wide receiver for a total of four games because he sold his Independence Bowl jersey to someone who could be classified as an agent under NCAA specifications.  Honestly, I see no problem with someone selling their personal belongings.  However, it is against the rules. Green along with numerous other college football players was being investigated for illegal contact with agents at a party in Miami, Florida.  While under investigation, the NCAA found a deposit for $1,000.  First of all, why is the NCAA reviewing someone’s personal bank statements?  Secondly, another collegiate player accepted almost $2000 worth of improper benefits directly from an agent and only received a two-game suspension compared to Green’s four-game suspension.  Is it me, or does it seem that the NCAA has their priorities backwards?  There is a fine line between strict punishment and being over the top, and I believe the NCAA has crossed that line.  As stated before, I am not arguing the rules; I am just arguing the outrageous sanctions.